Best picks since ‘06

Saturday

May 4, 2013 at 6:46 PM

The 2013 NFL draft is in the books and opinions are plenty as to which teams helped themselves the most.

Mike DetillierSports Correspondent

The 2013 NFL draft is in the books and opinions are plenty as to which teams helped themselves the most. The draft is really an educated guess on the long-term success of a player. So I looked back from the 2006 draft thru the 2012 draft on who (in my opinion) was the best selections in each round during that seven-year time frame.With Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers all in the league before the 2006 draft, the first-round pick honor goes to the most dominant running back in the game since that time — Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.The seventh overall pick in the 2007 draft is a five-time Pro Bowler and has rushed for 8,849 yards, averaged 5.0 yards per carry and scored 76 rushing touchdowns since 2007.Last year, in one of the most memorable seasons I have seen at the professional level, Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards on 348 carries and averaged 6.0 yards per rush. The 2012 MVP also caught 40 passes for 217 yards and a score less than a year after major knee surgery.While there have been some signature first-round choices since 2006 in players like wide receiver Calvin Johnson, inside linebacker Patrick Willis, cornerback Darrelle Revis, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, quarterbacks Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Clay Matthews and Aldon Smith, Peterson has been the signature player at a position that as a whole has been devalued on draft day.The best pick in Round 2 was a tougher choice. There were some excellent choices in Bears running back Matt Forte, Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, former Packers and current Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings, Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth and a possible future star in 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but I selected Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice over Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew.Rice, the 55th overall selection in the 2008 draft, is a three-time Pro Bowler and rushed for 5,520 yards, averaged 4.5 yards per carry and scored 33 rushing touchdowns in five seasons with the Ravens.The former Rutgers star has also caught 311 passes for 2,713 yards and six touchdowns. His physical rushing style, quickness and his all-around skills put pressure on defenses like few others in the game.My selection for the best third-round choice was Saints tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham beat out Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, former Steelers and current Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace, Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston, Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.Charles would have been a great pick, but I selected Graham over 49ers inside linebacker Navarro Bowman.The 95th overall selection in the 2010 NFL draft, Graham was a project player, only playing one year of college football, but it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-6, 255-pound former Hurricanes basketball player to make a huge impact in the league.In three seasons, Graham has caught 215 passes for 2,648 yards and 25 touchdowns. In the last two seasons Graham has caught 184 passes for 2,292 yards and 20 touchdowns.Barring a serious injury, Graham is the heir apparent to being handed the best tight end baton from Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons.The selection in Round 4 was the toughest choice of any pick of draft choices since 2006. Former Saints and current Bears offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, former 49ers and current Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson, Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton, Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins, former Broncos and current Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, Packers offensive guard Josh Sitton and Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez were all possibilities, but it came down to Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall or Saints offensive guard Jahri Evans.Marshall is a four-time Pro Bowler and caught 612 passes for 7,755 yards and 45 scores in seven seasons in the league.He also has been a problem child who has bounced around to three different teams since entering the league in 2006.Evans was the 108th overall pick in the 2006 draft and the former Bloomsburg State player, who is a four-time Pro Bowler, has developed into one of the top overall offensive linemen in the game.Evans wins the nod with this pick. Evans was my selection in Round 4. In Round 5, Buccaneers offensive guard Carl Nicks was the winner. The Saints selected the two-time Pro Bowler with the 164th overall pick in 2008.Nicks is a very agile and athletic player for someone so large and before he sustained a season-ending toe injury in late October he had not missed an NFL game since entering the league.Entering the start of the 2012 season, Nicks was looked at as the best offensive guard in the game and beat out Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr and Saints punter Thomas Morstead for the best pick in Round 5.In Round 6, the best selection since 2006 was a showdown between Colts free safety Antoine Bethea or Vikings offensive center John Sullivan.The 6-4, 305-pound Sullivan has been a four-year starter at one of the toughest positions to master in pro football and last season, in my opinion, he was the best center in the NFC.But I selected Bethea, who the Colts picked, with the 207th overall pick in the 2006 draft when he came out of Howard.Bethea has been a two-time Pro Bowler and recorded 696 tackles, 12 interceptions and had 40 passes defended over the past seven seasons.Bethea beat out Sullivan, Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garcon, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and a player that was hard not to select in Redskins rookie halfback Alfred Morris, who rushed for 1,613 yards last season.In Round 7 it was a tough choice between Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson and St. Louis Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan.Colston has been a mainstay in the Saints passing arsenal, catching 532 passes for 7,394 yards and 58 touchdowns since entering the league in 2006, but I selected Finnegan.Finnegan was a standout football player for both the Titans and the Rams and the former Samford University cornerback has been a difference maker at one of the toughest places to find a stellar player in the league.Finnegan, in the opinion of some, is a boarder-line “dirty player”, but his toughness and physical play, his outstanding one-on-one cover skills and his excellent play in run support makes him one of the top cornerbacks in the game.Since entering the league in 2006, Finnegan has 574 tackles, 76 pass knockdowns and 17 interceptions.

MOST FIRST-ROUND PICKS SINCE 2006There is no doubt the toughest conference in college football is again the SEC. The league overwhelmed the competition with the amount of players selected last weekend. Since 2006, two of the Top 3 first-round pick producers came from the SEC.Alabama has the most first-round selections since 2006 with 14. LSU and USC are tied for the second position with 12 each. Ohio State is fourth with 11 selections, and Florida and Florida State each have had 10 first-round choices since 2006.

SCHOOLS WITH MOST PLAYERS DRAFTED SINCE 2006Since 2006, USC has had 59 players selected and leads the pack with players selected from one school since that year. LSU is second with 51 players picked. Georgia finished third with 47 picks and is followed by Ohio State with 43 and Oklahoma with 42. Florida and Alabama each have had 40 players taken since 2006.

TEXAS TOPS LIST OF TOP 100 IN 2013In the 2013 NFL draft if you are looking for the states that produced the most Top 100 selections, the nod goes to Texas with 11 picks in the Top 100 choices. Florida finishes second with 10 picks and California had nine elections in the Top 100. Louisiana (Barkevious Mingo, Eric Reid, Robert Alford, Eddie Lacy, Bennie Logan, Dallas Thomas and Tyrann Mathieu) had seven picks, as did the state of Georgia. The state of Ohio had five Top 100 selections.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK“Rufus Johnson is the best defensive lineman I have ever coached. His speed off the corner is outstanding, and he has fast and violent hands. When he gets his big paws on you he will move you around and fast. He has tremendous closing speed to the quarterback and a motor that won’t quit. If they are asking him to get up the field and rush the quarterback he is going to be a good player in this league. He is not going to be effective dropping in reverse. The young man has a work ethic that is very impressive,” — Tarkelton State football coach Cary Fowler on New Orleans Saints sixth-round pick Rufus Johnson.

NFL analyst Mike Detillier is based in Raceland.

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